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Pittsburgh Pirates Vs. Miami Marlins Game 46 Preview

By Larry Snyder

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The Pittsburgh Pirates take aim at winning their sixth in a row and collecting their fourth series sweep this afternnon against the Miami Marlins at PNC Park. The Bucs have gone 5-2 on this eight game homestand against the Twins (0-2), Mets (3-0), and Marlins (2-0).

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The crew of the Jolly Roger is 7-2 against the National League Eastern Division so far this season. Since 2012, the Pirates have gone 10-1 against the Marlins in Pittsburgh. Clint Hurdle’s squad is 2-4 against lefthanders this season and 21-18 against righthanders.

Lefthander Jeff Locke picked up his third victory Tuesday as the Bucs secured their sixth series win. He said on the team’s web site, “I think everyone wants to keep this going as long as we can. If we bump in and don’t come out on top, then we’ve got another one the next day. I think the clubhouse right now is in a great place and everybody’s doing a great job.”

Pittsburgh’s starting pitchers are finishing the month of May strong as they are 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA over their last five contests. According to the folks at the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Pirates starting pitchers went 5-0 with an ERA at that level over a five-game span was in Aug. 1977. During that time, John Candelaria (twice), Bruce Kison, Jerry Reuss, and Jim Rooker went 5-0 with a 0.69 ERA.

Miami is 18-29 and remains in last place in the NL East. The Marlins have a team ERA of 4.06 and trail the league in hits, averaging 7.8 per contest. They are 5-3 against left-handed pitching and 13-26 against righthanders.

When: Wednesday, May 27

First Pitch: 12:35 p.m. ET

Site: PNC Park

Playing Surface: Natural Grass

Television Coverage: ROOT Sports Network

Radio Coverage: KDKA-FM 93.7 – The Fan

Announcers: Greg Brown, Tim Neverett, Bob Walk, Steve Blass, and John Wehner

Live (Pay) Streaming: MLB.TV

Pittsburgh Pirates
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Pittsburgh Pirates

Online Highlights: Pirates Video

Sirius XM Satellite Radio: XM Channel 183, XM Internet 861

Odds: Pirates -1.5 According to the Bovada Online Sportsbook and the Over/Under is at seven.

Weather Forecast: According to the Weather Channel, it will be overcast with a stray shower possible. The high today is expected to be 86. Chance of rain is 20%.

Starting Pitchers: Miami manager Dan Jennings has opted to send Brad Hand (0-1, 5.47 ERA/1.35 WHIP) to the hill. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound lefthander has made 14 relief appearances this season for the Marlins. The 25-year-old has struck out 18 and walked six. His ground outs-fly outs ratio (GA/AO) is 1.53. It will be his first start of the season.

The Bucs will go with righthander Gerrit Cole (6-2, 2.05 ERA/1.11 WHIP). The 24-year-old will be making his 10th start of the season. The Newport Beach, Calif. native has been charged with two or fewer earned runs in seven of his first nine starts. He is 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in two career starts against the Boys from South Beach.

Next Matchup: The Pirates head out to San Diego Friday for a four-game set with the Padres at Petco Park. San Diego will hand the ball to Ian Kennedy (2-4, 6.11 ERA/1.39 WHIP) while the Bucs will counter with righthander A.J. Burnett (4-1, 1.37 ERA/1.10 WHIP). The first pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. The contest will be on ROOT Sports Pittsburgh.

Beyond The Scoreboard: Pedro Alvarez has homered in back-to-back contests for the second time this season and has gone deep four times in his last eight games…Rookie righthander Arquimedes Caminero has put up at least one strikeout in 18 of his first 22 appearances this season…Coming into Tuesday’s contest, Josh Harrison had gone 7-for-22 for a .318 average in five games since returning to the leadoff spot in the batting order.

Next: LISTEN: Talking playoffs, Penguins' problems

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